In a major crackdown against unexplained wealth in Sydney’s southwest, law enforcement authorities confiscated an array of luxury goods valued at over $7 million. The high-value seizure included everything from sports cars, gold bullion, to designer handbags.
On Thursday morning, the esteemed anti-gang Raptor Squad supported detectives to execute comprehensive raids at various locations in Padstow, Yagoona, Bankstown, Picnic Point, Peakhurst, and Drummoyne.
At one of the sites in Padstow, the police procured an assortment of luxury items, including 14 high-end handbags from renowned brands such as Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, five luxurious man-bags, a variety of Cartier jewelry, $10,000 in cash, and four opulent watches from Rolex, Breitling and Cartier.
Adding to their tally, the police identified and captured a case of gold bullion worth $80,000 in another location in Yagoona. Later in the day, a 2021 Lamborghini Aventador was impounded from a property in Drummoyne with the assistance of the riot police.
Their haul only increased when they discovered four more vehicles at a residency in Bankstown. The vehicles included a 2021 BMW S1000R motorcycle, a 1971 Mazda RX2, a 1983 Holden Gemini, a 2018 McLaren MA3 Coup, and additionally, over $20,000 in cash.
The police also seized electronic equipment and documents. All confiscated items were forwarded for an in-depth forensic examination by the Organised Crime Squad of the NSW Crime Commission, with their actions backed by newly established authorities.
The powers to target and confiscate unexplained wealth and assets were conspicuously enhanced in February. In July, officers initiated a probe into assets presumed to have been accrued via illicit activities.
Superintendent Peter Faux, the commander of the NSW Police Organised Crime Squad, noted these new powers will allow for a more stringent approach against organised criminal networks. The financial proclivities of these criminals will now become their downfall. As the top brass of the crime networks amass wealth, they’re usually skilled at maintaining low profiles, to avoid drawing attention to their felonious activities. However, the upgraded authorities will now permit the police to haul them before the court and challenge them to explain their extravagant incomes.
Executive director Darren Bennet of the NSW Crime Commission elucidated that the police no longer require a specific offence for seizing and freezing the wealth and assets of suspected criminals. Instead, all they need are evidence and intelligence. Therefore, the next step in this process is a civil court hearing, where the proprietors of these goods must validate that their assets were accumulated legally. In the event of their inability to prove this, the property will be rightfully returned to the citizens of NSW.
